Syria rebels deny withdrawal from Idlib buffer zone

The Failaq al-Sham rebel faction in northwest Syria has denied a report saying it withdrew forces and heavy arms from a demilitarised zone agreed by Turkey and Russia.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday the group was the first to start pulling out of the buffer zone in the Idlib region.

Under the deal between Ankara and President Bashar al-Assad’s key ally Moscow, the zone will run along the contact line between insurgents and government forces, and will be patrolled by Turkish and Russian forces.

“What was cited of our withdrawal from the demilitarised zone is a lie,” Sheikh Omar Huziefa, a Failaq al-Sham leader told Reuters on Sunday night.